NC State Opens With a Convincing 102-67 Victory Over VMI

NC State opened up the Kevin Keatts era with a convincing 102-67 victory over VMI tonight.

The wealth was spread around nicely, with 7 Wolfpack players scoring in double figures.

Al Freeman – 17 pts
Torin Dorn – 16 pts
Lennard Freeman – 15 pts
Markell Johnson – 14 pts
Omer Yurtseven- 13 pts
Sam Hunt – 11 pts
Lavar Batts – 10 pts

NC State’s defensive intensity was evident from the tip-off, all the way until the final second ticked off the clock. The Wolfpack forced VMI to commit 21 turnovers.

The Wolfpack shot a solid 51% from the field, and 73.3% from the charity stripe, while holding VMI to 36% shooting.

Lennard Freeman had a great first game back after missing all of last season, scoring a career high of 15 points (5-8 FG).

Markell Johnson nearly had a double-double, adding 9 assists to his 14 points, with only 1 turnover. Oh yeah, he also chipped in 4 Steals.

Torin Dorn was probably the most steady player on the court tonight, doing a little bit of it all. To go along with his 16 points (7-11 FG), he also led the team in rebounds with 8.

Despite not shooting his best (5-15), Al Freeman showed that he is a leader on this team, and will get points one way or another. Lavar Batts gave us flashes of his lightning speed and athleticism. Sam Hunt popped in 3 from deep-land, which was an encouraging sign, after the exodus of Terry Henderson and Maverick Rowan.

On the whole, it was a dominant performance to start off the season. They reached triple digits while holding their opponent to under 70. The Wolfpack displayed tremendous effort, played unselfish basketball, and were pretty disciplined and smart while doing so.